Earl Warren

“ Here petitioner, by adopting the grounds relied upon by Fitzpatrick, based his refusal to answer on 'the first and fifth Amendments' and 'the first amendment to the Constitution, supplemented by the fifth amendment.' The Government concedes-as we think it must-that a witness may invoke the privilege by stating 'I refuse to testify on the ground of the Fifth Amendment.' Surely, in popular parlance and even in legal literature, the term 'Fifth Amendment' in the context of our time is commonly regarded as being synonymous with the privilege against self-incrimination. ”

“ When a witness declines to answer a question because of constitutional objections and the language used is not free from doubt, the way is always open for the committee to inquire into the nature of the claim before making a ruling. ”

“ As a consequence, petitioner was entitled to claim the privilege. The principal issue here is whether or not he did.
It is agreed by all that a claim of the privilege does not require any special combination of words. [30] Plainly a witness need not have the skill of a lawyer to invoke the protection of the Self-Incrimination Clause. If an objection to a question is made in any language that a committee may reasonably be expected to understand as an attempt to invoke the privilege, it must be respected both by the committee and by a court in a prosecution under § 192. ”